Gearing Up for Gears 2

So Microsoft was in town last week for a review session of Gears of War 2. It's something they've been doing round the globe, which is why Guy wrote us something earlier in the week. A few of us popped over to play, although not review since the game wasn't 100% final, but it was still worth spending some quality time. There are some embargoes in place on what we can talk about so I can't say much more beyond what GameSpot UK's Guy Cocker said in his preview but I'll call out some things that stood out to me.

Scale: The game has a bigger overall feel to it. You can chalk this up to a few things. The cinematic approach Epic is taking with the in-game camera (it doesn't really go the handheld route like the first one, it's a more traditional movie style) sets things up in a bigger way. Swooping camera angles that zip through a war-torn battlefield (LOTR movie style) add some drama to the action. Another big contributor is the sheer amount of stuff happening onscreen. The game's soundtrack also adds to the game's atmosphere. There's a lot of proper heroic themes running through the tunes you hear during the game. While some of it is a little atypical and obvious in spots (a stirring swell of tunes during a general's address to the army, for example) there's just no denying it works.

Graphics: Epic is bullying the 360 a lot with Gears 2. The first game looked great, albeit a little on the drab side in terms of color palette. In the sequel, Epic is pushing hard to do some really showy stuff. There's some great art direction going in the game, which makes for some very cool and twisted locations. Detail has been bumped up quite a bit, which makes for some really impressive visuals in spots. There's some sleight of hand going on with level of detail, and with what and how much you see on the screen during the crazier action segments, but that's fine.

Story: Just like everything else in the game, it's bigger and more dramatic. The bigger, epic stuff serves as a backdrop for Dom's frantic search for his wife (which is either going to end really badly or happily, doesn't seem like the game does middle ground) and adds some nice variety to the narrative. I'm not sold on Carmine's newbie brother as part of the squad, but he's not such a big deal.

Multiplayer: Co-op seems on track to be as sexy as in the last game. Horde mode is really fun and a nice test of skill and teamwork that will probably destroy relationships. The competitive stuff I tried is as fun as the original and the added embarrassment of the new features like meat shields, crawling away as you're half dead, and assorted death stomps is the right kind of fun.

Overall I'm excited for the game. There's a good mix of old and new blood on the creative team, which is resulting in a neat new vibe for the game. Keep an eye out for our full review in the coming weeks. Until then, enjoy an interview with Cliffy B here.

(Note: This post was written by Ricardo Torres. I'm posting it on his behalf -- Brian)